Man appeals to Salisbury residents to stay vigilant after reports of car thefts

A resident is appealing to the public to remain vigilant after a number of attempted - and successful - car thefts in Salisbury.

A spate of car thefts has plagued Salisbury within the past week, with reports of five vehicles targeted between Monday, June 24 and Saturday, June 29.

On Monday, June 24 a black Mercedes X 350 was stolen from an address on Pauls Dene Road, with a Kia Stinger taken the night before from Bedford Road. On Saturday, June 29 it was reported that entry to a further three vehicles was attempted on Cornwall Road.

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Thomas Plastow, 41, is the owner of V-Tec Automotive Ltd, and is the owner of the Mercedes X 350 which was stolen from Pauls Dene Road.

Thomas said: "The car was stolen early in the morning, at around 3.15am. The car has keyless entry, so they scan the car frequency, get into the vehicle, change the keys over to one that they have and then they're off on their way.

Thomas Plastow, 41 (Image: Thomas Plastow)

"I realised the car was gone when I was taking the dog for a walk at around 6.30am. I went out and noticed the car had been taken, so instantly called the police, rang my insurers and Mercedes, who have a tracker on the car which can be accessed by police request. This was all done by 9am on the same day.

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"It's been disappointing since as the tracker data has still not been accessed, and to make matters worse I even got a parking ticket from a car park in London where the vehicle had been left. However, when the local police force got there it was gone."

Thomas explained that the night before, a Kia Stinger was taken from an address in Bedford Road, and the following weekend, on Saturday, June 29 three more vehicles were targeted on Cornwall Road. One of the houses on Cornwall Road was reported to have been broken into to gain access to a set of car keys, which were taken despite the car being left.

These three roads are located within a two-mile radius of each other, with Thomas suggesting it could be part of a more 'organised car theft group.'

Thomas said: "It's worth highlighting that this sort of thing is going on, firstly to let people know that this is happening, and to remind locals to remain vigilant and safe."

Wiltshire Police has been contacted for comment.